By: Bro. Wilfred Atigbi (Bishop)
Text: Col.3:17, I Tim. 5:14
By: Bro. Wilfred Atigbi (Bishop)
Text: Col.3:17, I Tim. 5:14
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INTRODUCTION:
The wife is a vital component of the home. She was created by God at the beginning of Creation and was brought unto the man. “And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore, shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh” (Gen. 2:23-24).
The woman provides companionship to the man. She completes the status of the man in the home. Together, they function as one. Each, however, has his/her separate roles. The husband serves as the head of the home. The woman is the keeper of the home as the manager. In her position, the wife has responsibilities for which she is accountable unto God. (1Pet. 3:1-2, 5-6).
- FIRST RESPONSIBILITY IS TOTAL SUBMISSION:
First, she is to submit unto her husband’s rule. Two times in Ephesians 5 this obligation is set forth. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord… Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let wives be to their own husbands in everything” (Eph.5:22, 24). The subjection of the wife unto her husband is compared to the church’s subjection unto Christ.
Thus, it is a willing compliance to the will of the husband required by God. In days gone by, it was expressed with the words “obey him” and the marriage vows. As the head of the house, the husband sometimes makes difficult decisions. The wife may not always agree with his choices, but she has to submit. Some decisions he makes may seem trivial and others will be very important, but she has to submit. It must be remembered that this submission is within the context of the husband’s love for his wife. Also, the husband’s will is expected to comply with the will of Christ.
Some believe that the woman’s subjection is not applicable to the twenty-first century. It has been said that Paul was oppressive to the women, that is extravagantly proud. Others have said that the culture of the first-century suppressed women and that Paul was only conforming to societal norms. The submission of the woman unto the man goes back to the Garden of Eden.
In (Gen.3:16), God said to the woman: “…I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over you.” Any woman who seeks a position of authority within the home that is at par with or over the man is in transgression of God’s will and order for the home.
- TO BE A GOOD KEEPER OF THE HOME:
Second, the woman is to be the keeper of the home. In (Tit. 2:4-5), the older women are instructed to teach the younger women. Paul enumerates eight things they are to be taught: “…to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands…” “Keepers at home” is one of the eight things God expects of the married woman. Living elsewhere and having a job outside the home does not negate this responsibility.
Women can cry out such words as “unfair,” “senseless,” demeaning,”, and “old-fashioned,” but this will not make God’s will go away or change. The woman is to be the keeper of the home. The virtuous woman of (Prov. 31:10-31) gives some insight on how this is to be done. “She is like the merchant’s ships; she brings her food from afar. She rise also while it is night, and gives meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens…She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet…She opened her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue, is the law of kindness.
She looks well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness”. Her home is her priority. She makes certain the needs of her family are met. She is willing to get up early and go to bed late for them. The words “I can’t”, “I won’t,” and “I don’t want to” are not in her vocabulary where her family is concerned. She labors. She sacrifices. She keeps her home. Her labors do not go unnoticed. “Her children rise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, praises her” (Prov. 31:28).
- TO CREATE GODLY INFLUENCE IN THE HOME:
Third, she is a godly influence within the home. Like her husband, she serves God with faith and fidelity. She is knowledgeable of God’s Word. She worships and serves Christ with great joy. She shuns sin, despises the world, and have her hope laid up in heaven. This faithfulness radiates within her home. Husbands and children behold her “chaste conversation coupled with fear” (1Pet. 3:1-2). Her adorning involves “the hidden man of the heart, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price” (1Pet. 3:4).
Such women win the souls of their children to Christ. They make the home a foretaste of that heavenly home to come.
Our godless society laughs at a godly woman who submits to her husband and keeps the home. God, however, smiles upon His faithful servant. “Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excel them all. Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feared the Lord, she shall be praised” (Prov. 31:29-30).
CONCLUSION
The responsibility of the wife requires that she should share her love with husband paternal and maternal relatives. She must take care of the house and its environs. She must realize the vital role she plays in the house and know that the home is not complete without a good woman. A woman may be good or bad in some areas, but she fills a wonderful gap in the home.
A good woman realize this basic fact, and should therefore know how vital and important she is in the home. She will know that all facets of home management hinges on the importance of the woman at home.
A good woman acts like a mother to her husband, bearing in mind that he has found a new mother. She will devise a smiling way of welcoming him to the home after a tedious office work or business hustling daily.
Her tidiness of the home and environment is necessary, as men appreciates good sparkling things. Men do not like nagging or complaining wives.
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